The vehicle was attached by metal hoists to the underside of the helicopter.

Wing Commander Phil Greville, the RAF regional liaison officer in Wales, said: “Airlifting this type of vehicle underneath a Chinook has not been done before and we were very pleased that the flight trial went according to plan.

“The fire service needed to get a new fire appliance out to the island and we wanted to get this type of fire vehicle approved for airlift by Chinook.

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“The rural response pump vehicle is in widespread use throughout the UK and, in the future, we will be able to fly it to where it is needed when responding to major floods and other emergency situations.”

The fire appliance will be manned by volunteers from the small fishing and farming community which shares the island with the monks.

The monks themselves were once responsible for running the fire service but it has now been taken over by Mid and West Wales Fire Service.

This was the first time this type of vehicle was airlifted underneath a Chinook